PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Marian Croak

Also known as Marian Rogers Croak

Marian Croak leads Google’s work in Human Centered AI and Machine Learning. She studied at Princeton and USC, joined AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1982, and helped establish VoIP; her career includes more than 200 patents in voice and data communication. Her text-to-donate technology raised $43 million after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. At Google, she created a center for responsible AI; in February 2026, she and Sam Sepah described Natively Adaptive Interfaces, which use multimodal AI to adapt interfaces to users. She was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022, and received the IEEE Founders Medal in 2026.

Works
3

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026. Citations and h-index are hidden because this OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mix in other authors.

Photo of Marian Croak

Timeline

  1. 1982

    Degrees at Princeton and USC

    She earns an undergraduate degree from Princeton and a doctorate from USC in social psychology and quantitative analysis. She joins AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1982.

  2. 1982–2014

    Developing VoIP at AT&T

    At AT&T, she moves from Human Factors research into network engineering and helps establish the fundamentals of VoIP. She holds more than 200 patents in voice and data communication and leaves AT&T in 2014.

  3. 2005–2010

    Text-to-donate technology

    After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, she develops text-to-donate technology. It raises $43 million after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

  4. 2014

    Google reliability engineering

    She joins Google in 2014 and leads reliability engineering for Ads and YouTube. She also works on Project Loon, a network of high-altitude balloons designed to provide internet access to disaster areas and places without service.

  5. 2021

    A center for responsible AI

    In 2021, she creates and leads a center of expertise on responsible AI within Google Research.

  6. 2022

    Responsible AI research

    Her technical research team studies how AI systems and society interact, and works with Google’s Responsible Innovation team on fairer systems. She is inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022.

  7. 2026

    IEEE Founders Medal

    In 2026, IEEE awards her the Founders Medal for leadership in communication networks, digital equity, and responsible AI.

  8. As of October 2026

    Human Centered AI at Google

    She is the vice president of Responsible AI and Human Centered Technologies at Google and leads its work in Human Centered AI and Machine Learning. In February 2026, she and Sam Sepah describe Natively Adaptive Interfaces, which use multimodal AI to adapt interfaces to user needs.

Sources and credits

Photo: New America, via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY 2.0. Source: commons.wikimedia.org. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. Marian Croak lemelson.mit.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. 2022 NIHF Inductee Marian Croak: The Problem-Solving Engineer invent.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Positively connected uspto.gov. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Marian Croak’s vision for responsible AI at Google blog.google. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. “Lift as you lead”: Meet 2 women defining responsible AI blog.google. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Marian Croak blog.google. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. IEEE Honors Innovators Shaping AI and Education spectrum.ieee.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Honoring the art of the possible this International Women’s Day blog.google. Checked 14 October 2026.
  9. How AI tools can redefine universal design to increase accessibility research.google. Checked 14 October 2026.